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How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby
In this completely updated and revised edition of this international best-seller, Dr Shettles shows you how to raise the chances of having a child of the sex you want, from 50 per cent, if you do nothing at all, to at least 75 per cent, if you follow his methods.
256 pages, Paperback
First published February 16, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
September 12, 2013
Breastfeeding mothers looking to become pregnant again:
In one sentence toward the very end of the book the author states this method does not work for breastfeeding moms. He doesn't elaborate further! I wish I had known that before buying and reading the entire book...
In one sentence toward the very end of the book the author states this method does not work for breastfeeding moms. He doesn't elaborate further! I wish I had known that before buying and reading the entire book...
December 31, 2023
First 2/3 of the book is fluff. Just google the Shettles method.
June 17, 2013
Does the method of sex-selection highlighted in this book work? Nobody will ever know based on this terribly-written waste of time.
The first thing that bothers me is, who is this David Rorvik who actually wrote the book? Some journalist who goes around like a bad smell writing about controversial pop science topics? Why is the researcher responsible for the method unable to write the book himself? Competent communication of results is a critical part of being a researcher. It is clear Rorvik was not to be trusted with the job, as he has produced a tedious puff piece that loses the main points of the method the book is supposed to instruct in the tedium of the delivery.
The survey that accompanies the book and which is used to gather still further results raises more red flags. Given respondents will have already read the book and could therefore guess at the 'desired' answers even if the questions were not horribly leading, I see no value in the data thus obtained. People are only too willing to give a researcher the data they think he wants, if they feel he is 'on their side', or has been sorely put upon by the other big bad scientists, as our poor friend Dr. Laudanum is depicted as being by Mr. Rorvik the Journalist. It is so convenient in this case that, if the outcome does not match the expectations, the couple are given sufficient rope to blame themselves for not taking enough care with the instructions, as Dr. Laudanum will no doubt blame them to maintain his already shaky statistics.
It is, in short, not the sort of survey that is used by a researcher who is truly working to eliminate sources of bias in his results. But I do wonder how much of a researcher Dr. Laudanum is, anyway? Early in the book Rorvik attributes all sorts of achievements to his name; yet, when I did some of my own investigation I was unable to find any indication that he had anything significant to do with all but perhaps one of these achievements. Is he so hated in his field that there is a conspiracy afoot to erase him, or...? The book also talks about the anecdotal evidence provided, even though anecdotes are irrelevant in the absence of hard data and useless in the small quantities provided, and are clearly there only to excite the readers' hopes. (This is the sort of nonsense that happens when you let a journalist write your book for you.) It is also tedious to keep reading about the elevated results Dr. Laudanum has achieved in his own studies. These percentages are useless and frankly suspicious when they cannot be replicated by others.
I am merely an interested reader, not a would-be parent desperate for a child with particular genitalia. In fact I find the idea of sex-selection abhorrent, not because I think it would unbalance the population if easily possible, but because it panders to antiquated and damaging beliefs that the experience of parenting a child is linked in a very specific way to their gender. I don't particularly care if people who intend to be loving parents no matter what choose to attempt such techniques, but hopefully they won't care when their daughter hates dresses or their son takes his wife's surname rather than 'passing on' his own to the grandchildren. The nonsense in this book about how the pain of not being able to have a child of the desired gender being equivalent to the pain of not being able to have a child at all was revolting to read. I think most doctors tell such histrionic idiots to be grateful for what they have got for very good reasons. I also think there is a very good chance Dr. Laudanum and his journalist are taking advantage of and legitimising the hysteria of these very same idiots for their own personal gain. If this isn't the case, maybe they should put their brain cells together and come up with a more convincing book.
The first thing that bothers me is, who is this David Rorvik who actually wrote the book? Some journalist who goes around like a bad smell writing about controversial pop science topics? Why is the researcher responsible for the method unable to write the book himself? Competent communication of results is a critical part of being a researcher. It is clear Rorvik was not to be trusted with the job, as he has produced a tedious puff piece that loses the main points of the method the book is supposed to instruct in the tedium of the delivery.
The survey that accompanies the book and which is used to gather still further results raises more red flags. Given respondents will have already read the book and could therefore guess at the 'desired' answers even if the questions were not horribly leading, I see no value in the data thus obtained. People are only too willing to give a researcher the data they think he wants, if they feel he is 'on their side', or has been sorely put upon by the other big bad scientists, as our poor friend Dr. Laudanum is depicted as being by Mr. Rorvik the Journalist. It is so convenient in this case that, if the outcome does not match the expectations, the couple are given sufficient rope to blame themselves for not taking enough care with the instructions, as Dr. Laudanum will no doubt blame them to maintain his already shaky statistics.
It is, in short, not the sort of survey that is used by a researcher who is truly working to eliminate sources of bias in his results. But I do wonder how much of a researcher Dr. Laudanum is, anyway? Early in the book Rorvik attributes all sorts of achievements to his name; yet, when I did some of my own investigation I was unable to find any indication that he had anything significant to do with all but perhaps one of these achievements. Is he so hated in his field that there is a conspiracy afoot to erase him, or...? The book also talks about the anecdotal evidence provided, even though anecdotes are irrelevant in the absence of hard data and useless in the small quantities provided, and are clearly there only to excite the readers' hopes. (This is the sort of nonsense that happens when you let a journalist write your book for you.) It is also tedious to keep reading about the elevated results Dr. Laudanum has achieved in his own studies. These percentages are useless and frankly suspicious when they cannot be replicated by others.
I am merely an interested reader, not a would-be parent desperate for a child with particular genitalia. In fact I find the idea of sex-selection abhorrent, not because I think it would unbalance the population if easily possible, but because it panders to antiquated and damaging beliefs that the experience of parenting a child is linked in a very specific way to their gender. I don't particularly care if people who intend to be loving parents no matter what choose to attempt such techniques, but hopefully they won't care when their daughter hates dresses or their son takes his wife's surname rather than 'passing on' his own to the grandchildren. The nonsense in this book about how the pain of not being able to have a child of the desired gender being equivalent to the pain of not being able to have a child at all was revolting to read. I think most doctors tell such histrionic idiots to be grateful for what they have got for very good reasons. I also think there is a very good chance Dr. Laudanum and his journalist are taking advantage of and legitimising the hysteria of these very same idiots for their own personal gain. If this isn't the case, maybe they should put their brain cells together and come up with a more convincing book.
October 8, 2025
After two boys we thought we might have one more... and figured we'd try for a girl - only because even if it were a boy we'd love them just the same. Otherwise we wouldn't have tried it. Our little girl showed up so worked for us apparently. (Although we went on to have 3 more girls... Did it permanently change our system?)
My only hesitation to recommend is do not use if you can't love the child either way. If it's a "Hey let's give it a shot", then sure go ahead. We did!
My only hesitation to recommend is do not use if you can't love the child either way. If it's a "Hey let's give it a shot", then sure go ahead. We did!
September 10, 2014
Even though I never wrote to the authors, to confirm it worked for us, I want to say something now. After Prayer, research, more prayer, I chose this book over others because it had a moral responsibility, and it was dealing with it scientifically, not with ridiculous diet changes. After having 2 boys, we had our girl. Blessed!
February 10, 2024
I really think people missed English class and how to format a paper or perhaps they never read a good story or book. This even though the topic is not anything I am really at the age of I find the quest for understanding our world around us, what we call today as the sciences.
Yes most of the time people are so far off and if they did not have the “Scientific Method” which really needs to be revamped and I have considered doing. One that would add thousands of years of observation. If we could incorporate those observations then we might not have books like this that try to convince you of utter….. well old wise tales that actually work. Make your face this way… and maybe research the chemistry or astronomy behind all off it. An example would be human female cycles are on the same cycle as the moon - 28 days and what do you think happens at the 14 day mark. So how do you get a woman pregnant or one that has issues with her cycle. How do you get her healthy and onto the cycle of the moon? Well I can tell you and is that science or thousands of years of old wise/wives tales, handed down grandmother to children. Secret man talk because they don’t want anyone known they have questions about women and how to actually get them pregnant because surely its their fault that the man’s libido is waning and this little babies are not swimming …. So did they know this thousands of years ago? Ask most people and they would say no cave people didn’t know but they do believe there was an Atlantis.
Anyway, read the book then think to yourself why didn’t he make one for men and one for women to make more money… hahaha wholly cow!
Yes most of the time people are so far off and if they did not have the “Scientific Method” which really needs to be revamped and I have considered doing. One that would add thousands of years of observation. If we could incorporate those observations then we might not have books like this that try to convince you of utter….. well old wise tales that actually work. Make your face this way… and maybe research the chemistry or astronomy behind all off it. An example would be human female cycles are on the same cycle as the moon - 28 days and what do you think happens at the 14 day mark. So how do you get a woman pregnant or one that has issues with her cycle. How do you get her healthy and onto the cycle of the moon? Well I can tell you and is that science or thousands of years of old wise/wives tales, handed down grandmother to children. Secret man talk because they don’t want anyone known they have questions about women and how to actually get them pregnant because surely its their fault that the man’s libido is waning and this little babies are not swimming …. So did they know this thousands of years ago? Ask most people and they would say no cave people didn’t know but they do believe there was an Atlantis.
Anyway, read the book then think to yourself why didn’t he make one for men and one for women to make more money… hahaha wholly cow!
January 27, 2018
I was immediately intrigued when I came across the book How to Choose the Sex of Your Baby by Landrum B. Shettles and David M. Rorvik. Since then, I’ve suggested it to several of my clients with a disclaimer that the information is only meant to educate – not guarantee the sex of their baby.
How to Choose the Sex of Your BabyRevised in 2006 and first published in 1970, this book provides authoritative scientific studies and compelling anecdotal evidence demonstrating the Shettles method. When properly applied, it promises to give couples a 75 percent or better chance of having a child of the desired sex.
In part one of three, the book addresses whether it is possible or moral to conceive a child of a specific gender. Part two covers the emergence of a scientific sex-selection method, while part three covers how to use the Shettles Method. This is include determining the time of ovulation using the cervical mucus method. Other than that, the significance of the female orgasm, sexual position during intercourse, means of influencing the acidity/ alkalinity of the female reproductive tract, and more are covered.
I cannot personally attest to whether the Shettles method works. However, I did appreciate the scientific approach behind this book and feel that it should be read by those interested in this topic of sex-selection (regardless of whether you intend to try it out).
How to Choose the Sex of Your BabyRevised in 2006 and first published in 1970, this book provides authoritative scientific studies and compelling anecdotal evidence demonstrating the Shettles method. When properly applied, it promises to give couples a 75 percent or better chance of having a child of the desired sex.
In part one of three, the book addresses whether it is possible or moral to conceive a child of a specific gender. Part two covers the emergence of a scientific sex-selection method, while part three covers how to use the Shettles Method. This is include determining the time of ovulation using the cervical mucus method. Other than that, the significance of the female orgasm, sexual position during intercourse, means of influencing the acidity/ alkalinity of the female reproductive tract, and more are covered.
I cannot personally attest to whether the Shettles method works. However, I did appreciate the scientific approach behind this book and feel that it should be read by those interested in this topic of sex-selection (regardless of whether you intend to try it out).
November 14, 2022
The actual method seemed to be logical and make sense and seems like it is sound.
It felt like only 15-20% of the book was on the actual method and how it works.
The rest felt like a website Q&A (some of which is already well covered in their method) or review board, mixed with why other methods don’t work. This can be valuable but was way overdone.
It felt like only 15-20% of the book was on the actual method and how it works.
The rest felt like a website Q&A (some of which is already well covered in their method) or review board, mixed with why other methods don’t work. This can be valuable but was way overdone.
June 22, 2019
The first and the best book in sex-selection method. I recommend it.
November 3, 2020
Vry good
June 2, 2024
Easy to read (my friend gifted me this after she successfully chose the genders of both her kids)
October 10, 2024
I haven’t tried the methods yet, but there is a lot of good information within the book. I definitely recommend reading it.
November 27, 2014
(Note: I wrote this review while I was trying to conceive our secondborn. We tried for a boy and got a boy!)
This book has been around in some form or another since 1970, and it’s co-authored by one of the pioneers in in vitrofertilization. It’s written by Rorvik with the late Dr. Shettles (d. 2003) having provided the medical and scientific background. The title says it all: Shettles believed that couples can choose the sex of their babies.
Well, that’s not entirely accurate. Shettles believed that couples can drastically increase their chances of having one sex or the other, based mostly on when they time intercourse in relation to ovulation, though he cautioned that his method does not guarantee the desired sex. According to Shettles, the Y-sperm (male) are smaller, faster, and more fragile, while the X-sperm (female) are larger, slower, and hardier, so if you want a boy, you should time intercourse for as close to ovulation as possible. This will allow the faster Y-sperm to beat the slower X-sperm to the ovum. If you want a girl, you should have intercourse 2-3 days prior to ovulation. Shettles claimed success rates of 80-85% with the boy method and 75-80% with the girl method, and he believed those rates got a little higher when his method is followed carefully.
The book is well-written and easy to read with instructions that are carefully laid out and easy to follow. The documentation isn’t the best; I’d have preferred that Shettles and Rorvik use proper end notes for their citations. But they do provide the information one would need to consult the scientific backing for their claims.
The book is rather old-fashioned (I don’t think any non-married or working women with “Ms.” instead of “Mrs.” for a title were ever referenced) and the tone is a bit pedantic at times, but judging by the letters published from readers, maybe that’s a necessity given that some of the people wanting to try and implement this method really aren’t that bright. I further found it a bit silly that, in the “letters from readers” section, Shettles and Rorvik spend several paragraphs agonizing about how they didn’t want to print negative feedback, but were going to in order to be fair and balanced, and then they hardly print any negative letters at all. The chapter on baby names struck me as a completely unnecessary afterthought (apparently my current favorite for a girl’s name, Ivy, used to be a boys’ name, though I think naming a boy “Ivy” in 2006 would be disastrous, so yuck.). I also wish that the book had included information on checking cervical position as a fertility sign.
But the real question anyone picking up this book will want to know is: does it work? Well, I can’t say; I haven’t had a baby using this method yet! And even if I do conceive a boy, it could be a coincidence. The book has high ratings at Amazon.com though, and it seems that more than 50% of the people who try this method are satisfied customers. If this were sex selection quackery, I would expect that at least 50% of its customers would be reporting that the method doesn’t work.
Then again, it seems that other scientists do poo-poo this method. From the next book that I’m going to read, The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy(2011):
----------
BABY’S SEX: CAN PARENTS CHOOSE?
Is there any way to influence a baby’s sex–increase your odds for a boy or a girl?
The short answer is no. There’s not much the average couple can do to affect a baby’s sex. Countless old wives’ tales suggest that everything from a woman’s diet to sexual position during conception can affect a baby’s sex, but these theories remain unproven. Likewise, researchers have found that timing sex in relation to ovulation–such as having sex days before ovulation to conceive a boy or closer to ovulation to conceive a girl–doesn’t work. (p. 90)
--------------
The way I see it is, I’d be perfectly happy with a baby of either sex, and if I don’t do something, I stand a decent chance of having all girls. So it’s not like it could hurt.
For the time being, I’m giving the book 4/5 stars. If I actually do conceive and give birth to a boy, I may bump that up to 4.5/5 stars. It could really use a modern make-over with some information on using FertilityFriend to track ovulation. It was a good book for its time, but times have changed
This book has been around in some form or another since 1970, and it’s co-authored by one of the pioneers in in vitrofertilization. It’s written by Rorvik with the late Dr. Shettles (d. 2003) having provided the medical and scientific background. The title says it all: Shettles believed that couples can choose the sex of their babies.
Well, that’s not entirely accurate. Shettles believed that couples can drastically increase their chances of having one sex or the other, based mostly on when they time intercourse in relation to ovulation, though he cautioned that his method does not guarantee the desired sex. According to Shettles, the Y-sperm (male) are smaller, faster, and more fragile, while the X-sperm (female) are larger, slower, and hardier, so if you want a boy, you should time intercourse for as close to ovulation as possible. This will allow the faster Y-sperm to beat the slower X-sperm to the ovum. If you want a girl, you should have intercourse 2-3 days prior to ovulation. Shettles claimed success rates of 80-85% with the boy method and 75-80% with the girl method, and he believed those rates got a little higher when his method is followed carefully.
The book is well-written and easy to read with instructions that are carefully laid out and easy to follow. The documentation isn’t the best; I’d have preferred that Shettles and Rorvik use proper end notes for their citations. But they do provide the information one would need to consult the scientific backing for their claims.
The book is rather old-fashioned (I don’t think any non-married or working women with “Ms.” instead of “Mrs.” for a title were ever referenced) and the tone is a bit pedantic at times, but judging by the letters published from readers, maybe that’s a necessity given that some of the people wanting to try and implement this method really aren’t that bright. I further found it a bit silly that, in the “letters from readers” section, Shettles and Rorvik spend several paragraphs agonizing about how they didn’t want to print negative feedback, but were going to in order to be fair and balanced, and then they hardly print any negative letters at all. The chapter on baby names struck me as a completely unnecessary afterthought (apparently my current favorite for a girl’s name, Ivy, used to be a boys’ name, though I think naming a boy “Ivy” in 2006 would be disastrous, so yuck.). I also wish that the book had included information on checking cervical position as a fertility sign.
But the real question anyone picking up this book will want to know is: does it work? Well, I can’t say; I haven’t had a baby using this method yet! And even if I do conceive a boy, it could be a coincidence. The book has high ratings at Amazon.com though, and it seems that more than 50% of the people who try this method are satisfied customers. If this were sex selection quackery, I would expect that at least 50% of its customers would be reporting that the method doesn’t work.
Then again, it seems that other scientists do poo-poo this method. From the next book that I’m going to read, The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy(2011):
----------
BABY’S SEX: CAN PARENTS CHOOSE?
Is there any way to influence a baby’s sex–increase your odds for a boy or a girl?
The short answer is no. There’s not much the average couple can do to affect a baby’s sex. Countless old wives’ tales suggest that everything from a woman’s diet to sexual position during conception can affect a baby’s sex, but these theories remain unproven. Likewise, researchers have found that timing sex in relation to ovulation–such as having sex days before ovulation to conceive a boy or closer to ovulation to conceive a girl–doesn’t work. (p. 90)
--------------
The way I see it is, I’d be perfectly happy with a baby of either sex, and if I don’t do something, I stand a decent chance of having all girls. So it’s not like it could hurt.
For the time being, I’m giving the book 4/5 stars. If I actually do conceive and give birth to a boy, I may bump that up to 4.5/5 stars. It could really use a modern make-over with some information on using FertilityFriend to track ovulation. It was a good book for its time, but times have changed
August 3, 2008
It's not a 100% guarantee. And they will tell you this in the book. It does increase your odds. Great explanations, so that you understand what is really going on scientifically.
I can honestly say we tried the methods in this book, and we were successful. Coincidence? Maybe. Perhaps it was up to some greater power? who knows. What we did only made the chances better and we were blessed to have what we were hoping for and healthy most importantly. :)
I can honestly say we tried the methods in this book, and we were successful. Coincidence? Maybe. Perhaps it was up to some greater power? who knows. What we did only made the chances better and we were blessed to have what we were hoping for and healthy most importantly. :)
August 19, 2009
I read this in 2000 as part of pre-pregnancy preparation. I was NOT looking to have just one or the other sex, but the theory was facinating. I felt lucky no matter what and thought I knew what sex each would be before we found out at each of three deliveries. My opinion was based on the circumstances / timing at the time of conception per the theories in book. Probably a lot of coincidence but nice book for those that care more than I did.
March 22, 2010
Very informative, helpful book. Actually, I'd say it was a bit too informative. It was like information overload! I skimmed through a lot of the history and science of it and just skipped to the chapters that were useful to me. Thankfully, it was laid out very easy to do that.
I'd say that if you were looking for ways to up your chances of your baby being a certain sex, this book is a good place for you start.
I'd say that if you were looking for ways to up your chances of your baby being a certain sex, this book is a good place for you start.
Read
August 20, 2012I'm not at a point of needing this book, but a neighbor swore by it and I was curious. The science is fascinating and the book is clearly written with pretty straightforward recommendations. I can't review it because I don't have personal verification that the methods work, but if you know you get pregnant easily, or are really set on a boy or girl, or are just plain curious like me, it's worth checking out, and can be "read" for highlights in just a few hours.
May 24, 2010
Great information. The first 100 pages cover the history, right and wrong of the concept, etc. But after you finish with that, the book gives great information. Of course, I haven't even started trying it out yet, so I obviously don't know how well it works! But I do know others who have read it and the information has worked for them.
July 8, 2007
I liked this book and I don't doubt that it can help with the selection of the sex of your child. But, somewhere in the middle of it, I realized that doing all this stuff just doesn't feel right to me. If I decide to have another child, I'll just be happy with whatever I get.
Currently reading
January 29, 2008A friend gave us this book and it's helping us to understand all of the important nitty-gritty details of conception. I'm not sure if we're going to follow the advice it's giving, but it's an interesting concept to ponder....
July 8, 2009
This book was very insightful and seem to have some valid evidence for its methods. I skimmed several of the chapters because they were summary after summary of scientific research studies. I just wanted the specifics on what I needed to do. I am a believer in the Shettles method.
March 25, 2010
Well I thought it was very interesting to read. If I get tempted enough to try out Dr. Shettles methods I will let you know what I really think once we get an ultrasound. But it seems to make sense to me.
August 4, 2010
Very interesting read. I definitely learned a lot (even having thoroughly studied TCOYF in the past) and hopefully can get this to work for us! I do recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility to basically outline how to monitor fertility, but this was a nice refresher and a very quick read.
June 22, 2007
worked for us!!
January 14, 2008
Gift from Stephanie.
It worked!
It worked!
May 2, 2008
Read it... did it... And it worked. Highly recommend for those hoping for a girl (boys are cool too... love them... have two!!)
June 17, 2008
I got about half way through before I gave up. Maybe I just have too many friends that have been trying, but I didn't really learn anything new.
August 29, 2008
We followed this method to the letter... and got our baby boy. Might be science, might be coincidence. But it worked for me!! And Lil P thanks Dr. Shettles :)
September 3, 2011
We'll see how credible this theory is......
February 11, 2012
Worked for me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews